The 10 Most Generous Countries in the World

The U.K.-based Charities Aid Foundation is a group that supports both charities and the people who donate to them. As a result, it knows a whole lot about who gives the most to nonprofits around the world, and the company has pulled its data together to determine the ten most generous countries in the world. For its annual World Giving Index, the organization polled 1,000 residents of 140 nations about how much money they gave to charity, how many hours they spent volunteering, and how often they helped strangers. These are this year’s ten most generous countries, ranked.

Myanmar

A whopping 91 percent of people in Myanmar report that they have given money to charity in the past year, a commitment that may be linked to practice of Theravada Buddhism. In the country, it is common for locals to give money, food, and other support to monks in order to help them live their ascetic lifestyles. With a population of 39 million, Myanmar has the highest per-person giving ratio of any country on this list.

United States

Despite the noise around the upcoming presidential election in the United States, political tensions haven’t kept Americans divided from each other. Some 73 percent of people polled report that they have helped a stranger within the past year, and the high rates of volunteerism are possibly connected to supporting a political candidate through actions like phone-banking.

Australia

Aussies are clearly fond of opening their wallets, coming in behind only Myanmar and Indonesia in amounts of per-person giving to charity. And while the index only considers donations made in the same country the giver lives in, the definition of “Australian” is changing as the country has vowed to take in some 12,000 Syrian refugees.

New Zealand

It might not be a coincidence that New Zealand lands immediately after its neighbor Australia on this list. As the World Giving Index notes, “Comprised solely of Australia and New Zealand, Oceania is a conflict-free, economically homogenous continent where barriers to giving will be lower than in many other countries.”

Sri Lanka

One of the biggest gainers on this year’s list, Sri Lanka is emerging from the shadow of a brutal civil war that ended in 2009. The country of 21 million scored high marks for both community volunteerism and for kindness to strangers. What better reason to visit now?

Canada

The world’s second-largest country, Canada has been in the Global Index top ten every year since the list began in 2010. However, this was its first year falling outside of the top 10 for individual charitable giving, but the country’s score was bolstered by solid numbers in volunteering and helping others.

Indonesia

The archipelago of Indonesia is up from 22nd place in last year’s index to seventh in this one. A possible theory? The survey was conducted in August, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, where it’s customary to donate to charity.

United Kingdom

Brexit? What Brexit? This year's survey was conducted before the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, so it's not clear if the big change will affect the country's status when it comes to charity. Right now, 69 percent of Brits said they donated money to charity over the past year and 33 percent did some volunteering.

Ireland

It's not only Irish eyes that are smiling. Ireland got high marks for kindness to strangers, which undoubtedly contributes to the country's successful tourism industry—although the abundance of gorgeous castle hotels probably doesn't hurt either.

United Arab Emirates

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates doesn't only use its wealth to build ornate opera houses and extravagant skyscrapers in Dubai. The country makes its first-ever appearance in the top ten this year, after coming in 14th in 2015.